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The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to allow abortions to be carried out in Idaho in cases of medical emergencies after a ruling was accidentally published on its website.
Meanwhile, it is one day until Donald Trump and Joe Biden meet in Atlanta, Georgia for their first 2024 debate, which could have a massive impact on the election.
Biden’s campaign has refused a request from Donald Trump that they both take a drug test beforehand.
Follow live updates from our reporters in Washington D.C. and around the country.
U.S. Supreme Court appears set to allow emergency abortions in Idaho
The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to allow abortions to be carried out in Idaho in cases of medical emergencies, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing a copy of a ruling it said was briefly posted on the court’s website.
A court spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Supreme Court has not officially released its ruling in the case.
The case is the first time the country’s highest court has weighed the scope of a state abortion ban after it overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, returning the issue of abortion to states to decide.
Idaho’s law bans nearly all abortions with limited exceptions in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.
The development on Wednesday marked the second time in two years that a major Supreme Court ruling on abortion has been disclosed before being formally issued by the justices.
Exclusive:Hunter Biden knew Lunden Roberts was pregnant with his child and still had a drunken romp with her friend
A forthcoming book written by Lunden Roberts, mother of Hunter Biden’s 5-year-old daughter Navy Joan, talks about his erratic and devastating behavior after she told him she was pregnant.
Roberts reveals that Hunter had drunken sex with her close friend after she shared her pregnancy news.
The hook-up came days after Hunter heard a recording of the baby’s heartbeat.
Lunden also writes that once she found out, Hunter didn’t immediately apologize and instead asked her for money to buy a Gatorade from the Dupont Circle CVS.
First look at the CNN debate stage in Atlanta
Biden will be at the podoum on the right and Trump on the left, after the Biden team won a coin toss and chose.
The two candidates will stand 8ft apart.
DHS Sec. Mayorkas: ‘Our hearts go out’ to Americans killed by migrants and says report that 400 ISIS-linked immigrants snuck into U.S. is wrong
Department of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters at a press conference at the border that his ‘heart goes out’ to the families of Americans killed by illegal migrants.
Mayorkas pledged that any illegal migrant criminal will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
He was also asked about a recent report tgat federal agents are racing to round up over 400 immigrants who were smuggled into the US through the border by an ISIS-affiliated human smuggling network.
The secretary called it ‘inaccurate.’
Why is the Supreme Court ruling on Idaho’s abortion law?
After the court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago most Republican-controlled states began enforcing restrictions on abortion.
Idaho is among 14 states that outlaw abortion at all stages of pregnancy with very limited exceptions.
The Biden administration sued Idaho, arguing that hospitals must provide abortions to stabilize pregnant patients in rare emergency cases when their health is at serious risk.
The Supreme Court had previously allowed the Idaho measure to go into effect, even in medical emergencies, while the court case played out.
According to doctors several women have since needed medical airlifts out of state in cases in which abortion is routine treatment to avoid infection, hemorrhage and other health risks.
The court’s eventual ruling is expected to have ripple effects on emergency care in other states with strict abortion bans.
Supreme Court says Idaho abortion ruling has ‘not been released’ and was published ‘inadvertently’
A spokesman for the court said the case of Idaho v. United States ‘has not been released’ even though iot appeared briefly on the court’s website.
The Court’s Publications Unit inadvertently and briefly uploaded a document to the Court’s website.
The Pentagon move that shows Biden is open to sending Americans into Ukraine to help Zelensky’s troops
The Biden administration is considering lifting a long-held ban on U.S. military contractors deploying to Ukraine, according to four officials.
It would mark a huge shift in Pentagon policy as it looks to help Ukrainian forces gain the upper hand after two years fighting Russia.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly resisted any move that could risk escalating the war but officials are reportedly examining the idea that contractors could be allowed into the war-torn country to help maintain and repair U.S. weapons systems.
‘We have not made any decisions and any discussion of this is premature,’ one administration official told CNN.
‘The president is absolutely firm that he will not be sending US troops to Ukraine.’
Blow for Biden as key voters in swing states trust Trump more to protect democracy
The ‘threat to democracy’ posed by Donald Trump is a key plank of Joe Biden’s case for re-election.
But a stunning new poll shows key voters in six swing states actually trust Trump more than Biden to protect democracy.
The poll was carried out by The Washington Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.
It showed 38 percent trust Trump to handle threats to democracy and only 29 percent said the same of Biden, with 23 percent trusting neither.
The poll asked the views of 3,513 voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and then identified 2,255 it classified as key to the outcome of the election.
Justin Gest, a professor of policy and government at George Mason University, told the Washington Post:
Many Americans don’t recognize Biden’s custodianship of our democracy, which is a bad sign for his campaign.
AOC posts tribute for Jamaal Bowman after primary loss
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted a eulogy to Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s career on X on Wednesday after his primary loss to George Latimer.
‘Son of a single mother. Grew up in public housing. Dedicated his life to teaching. Became a school principal. Founded a prized school to serve Bronx youth. Elected as the 1st Black Congressman for NY16. Never took a dime in corporate money. A true public servant.’
Bowman is the first Squad member to be ousted in favor of a more moderate, pro-Israel Democratic competitor. AOC had campaigned heavily for Bowman ahead of the election.
J.D. Vance says he would feel a ‘little bit of disappointment’ if he not picked as Trump’s running mate…but the job he has is ‘cool’
Ohio Senator J.D. Vance is one of the favorites to be picked as Donald Trump’s running mate.
In an honest assessment on Fox News, Vance said he would be a bit disappointed if he doesn’t get picked, but there are other important things in life too. Vance said:
If it doesn’t happen, there’s certainly going to be a little bit of disappointment.
But the bigger thing is, it’s such a cool thing to get to do the job that I do. And frankly, more importantly than that, I love being a Dad and Usha (his wife) loves being a Mom. I think we’d love doing that together. And that’s not going to change whether Trump asked me to be vice president or not.
Republicans happier than Democrats with their candidate by 18 points ahead of debate
Republicans are significanlty happier with Donald Trump as their presidential nominee than Democrats are with Joe Biden as theirs, a new poll shows.
The AP-NORC poll shows six in 10 Republicans are satisfied with Trump as their nominee.
But just 42 percent of Democrats say the same about Biden.
The poll also shows how crucial the dewbate could be to the outcome of the election with six in 10 U.S. adults saying they plan to watch some element of it.
That means they will see it live or in clips, or read about it, or listen to commentary about the performance of the candidates in the news or social media.
It suggests tens of millions of Americans are likely to be impacted by the debate.
The war in Gaza is an especially vulnerable issue for Biden, with only 26 percent of U.S. adults approving of his handling of the crisis, according to the eve-of debate poll.
Biden welcomes Dutchman as new head of NATO
Joe Biden has welcomed the appointment of Mark Rutte, the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister, as head of NATO.
The White House said Biden believes he will be an ‘excellent’ NATO chief and advance efforts to support Ukraine.
Rutte, 57, will take over from Jens Stoletenberg as Secretary-General in October.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said:
President Biden strongly believes that Mark Rutte will make an excellent Secretary-General.
The wildest moment from the last Trump-Biden debates… from ‘will you shut up man’ to ‘least racist person in the room’
Down in the polls after a campaign upended by the pandemic, Trump called Biden ‘corrupt’ and brought up the ‘laptop from hell.’ During the vicious 2020 debates Biden told Trump to ‘shut up’ after his frequent interruptions, and they traded accusations on their personalities and records.
Thursday’s prime-time contest on CNN is certain to feature other angry clashes, with Biden’s team already calling Trump a threat to democracy and Trump’s team asserting that Biden is on drugs – even though the two sides negotiated on rules that will diminish some opportunities for drama. That could limit, or at least modify, some of the tense viral cross-talk moments.
One such explosion took place when Trump and Biden met during the Cleveland debate, when Biden was asked about either ending the filibuster or ‘packing the court’ to get Democratic priorities through.
Joe Biden will try to make Trump ‘lash out’ at the presidential debate
President Joe Biden will try to ‘trigger’ former President Donald Trump when they meet on the debate stage Thursday night in Atlanta.
Biden’s advisers are studying all of Trump’s recent comments trying to figure out what the president could say to get the Republican to lash out.
The Biden campaign wants the American people to see ‘rally’ Trump – where he’s bombastic and borderline unhinged – versus a more restrained and presidential version of the candidate.
Paris Hilton glams up on Capitol Hill as she exposes devastating child abuse stories including her own
Paris Hilton testified on Capitol Hill about the devastating experience she suffered through in a youth rehabilitation facility as she advocated for sweeping reforms to the foster and youth rehab system.
‘When I was 16 years old. I was ripped from my bed in the middle of night and transported across state lines to the first four residential facilities,’ Hilton told the House Ways and Means Committee.
‘For two years I was force-fed medications and sexually abused by the staff. I was violently restrained … stripped naked, thrown in solitary confinement,’ the Hilton hotels heiress went on.
Speaker Johnson says GOP will file lawsuit against DOJ to get Biden audio tapes
Speaker Mike Johnson disclosed that the House of Representatives will file a lawsuit next week in federal court to try and force the Justice Department to hand over Biden’s special counsel audio tapes.
Johnson accused DOJ of ‘editing’ Biden’s transcript in some ways, so ‘it’s really appropriate and important’ to get their hands on the audio tapes.
‘We will fight vigorously to get it,’ he added.
The speaker noted that Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s proposal to file an ‘inherent contempt’ resolution that would lead to Garland’s arrest if he doesn’t hand over the tapes has ‘not been settled on yet.’
Earlier this month, House Republicans voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress after he refused to hand over audio of President Biden’s special counsel interview with Robert Hur.
The contempt charge is a formal recommendation that Garland be prosecuted. He’s likely to be shielded from legal repercussions since Biden has asserted executive privilege over the audio.
And DOJ said it won’t pursue a prosecution against Garland for defying the subpoena.
Breaking: Supreme Court rules on social media censorship
In its first opinion of the day, the court reversed a decision by the 5th Circuit Court of appeals on social media censorship.
They ruled 6-3 that that the plaintiffs – the conservative states in this case – do not have standing, handing a win to the Biden administration.
The Republican-led states had argued that the Biden administration illegally and unconstitutionally worked with social media companies to squash conservative views on their platforms during the COVID pandemic.
Supreme Court set to issue decisions at 10 a.m.
All eyes are on the Supreme Court this morning as the justices still have 14 cases to decide.
The most closely watched cases include: Whether ex-President Trump has immunity, the January 6 defendants’ obstruction charges (which will impact Trump’s case too), social media and abortion.
Republicans swear in one more member, giving a buffer to their razor-thin majority
On Tuesday night Republicans swore in Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, bringing the total number of members to 432 – 219 Republicans, 213 Democrats.
Rulli replaced retiring Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio.
There are three vacancies: late Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., died. Former Reps. Ken Buck, R-Colo., and Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., resigned.
Republicans can lose two of their own votes and still pass party-line legislation.
FEC grants 45-day extension for Trump to file financial disclosures
Donald Trump was granted a 45-day extension to file personal financial disclosure with the Federal Election Commission.
Trump’s legal team requested the extra time due to the complex financials of the former president and presumed 2024 Republican nominee.
“A hard copy of the report bearing Mr. Trump’s original signature is now due and should be received by the Federal Election Commission by August 15, 2024.”
Trump’s financial closures are closely watched because it gives insight into his personal wealth, which is often a topic of debate.
The extension comes after Trump was levied a $300 million civil fraud fine and $80 million E. Jean Carroll judgment.
Democrats welcome ‘convicted felon’ Trump to Atlanta with mugshot billboard ahead of debate
Democrats are welcoming Donald Trump to Atlanta for the debate with a billboard calling out his new felon status.
With an image of his mugshot from his election interference case in Georgia, the DNC’s five billboard reads: ‘Donald. Welcome to Atlanta for the first time since becoming a convicted felon. Congrats – or whatever…’
Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in the Manhattan hush money trial, but is still facing three other criminal trials – including in Fulton County, Georgia.
‘The DNC understands the importance of Southern hospitality, so it is our pleasure to welcome Donald Trump back to the Peach State for the first time since becoming a convicted felon,’ DNC Spokesperson Jackie Bush said in a statement on the ads.
‘The man Georgia voters rejected in 2020 has only gotten more unhinged and vengeful in the past four years.’
Mike Johnson: ‘No one expects Biden will be on cocaine’ at the debate
Speaker Mike Johnson commented on speculation from Donald Trump’s camp that Joe Biden will be on drugs or using a performance-enhancing substance at Thursday’s debate.
Trump has suggested his rival will be ‘so pumped up’ and hinted that he could even take cocaine before their primetime CNN showdown.
Johnson appeared on the network on Tuesday night and was asked about the former president’s comments.
‘Look, there’s a lot of things that are said in jest. Of course, no one expects that Joe Biden will be on cocaine.’
Johnson did say that questions about Joe’s ability to lead are warranted and his energy levels are a concern.
Trump campaign trolls VP speculation… and keeps people guessing about announcement
Speculation about who will be Donald Trump’s running mate and when he will announce his pick is changing every day.
Some reports have said the major reveal could come as soon as this week, while others have said it won’t be until the Republican convention later this month.
But the Trump campaign is lapping up every development, and keeping everyone guessing.
‘ahh this is such an amazing scoop! yes ..it could come as soon as today …or …sometime in mid july !!’, senior Trump campaign advisor Chris LaCivita wrote in response to an NBC News report that the pick could be revealed in the coming days.
Biden ‘can’t hit a golf ball 10 yards’ says Trump
Donald Trump is attacking his debate opponent on Truth Social. He writes:
Crooked Joe Biden’s “Handlers” are loudly and profusely complaining that there will be no Fact Checkers during the Debate on Thursday. Actually, that is just DISINFORMATION – They could not be happier, because there is nobody that’s as loose with the TRUTH as Crooked Joe.
He accuses Biden of being a ‘walking LYING MACHINE, and a Fact Checker’s DREAM.’
The Republican candidate adds:
From the 51 Fake Intelligence Agents, to Russia, Russia, Russia, to the Fake “Suckers and Losers Story” he created about our beloved Military, to cheating in College and saying he was first in his Law School Class when he was actually LAST, to claiming he marched for Civil Rights, drove trucks, and has a 6.2 Handicap (He can’t hit the Golf Ball 10 yards, but that’s a minor detail!)…Maybe we should call him “Lyin’ Joe” in addition to Crooked?
Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger endorses Biden and Harris
Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger has endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris the day before the debate.
The Trump critic and ex-January 6 committee member announced in a video that he was backing the Democrats in 2024. despite being a ‘proud conservative’.
‘I’ve always put democracy and our Constitution above of all us. It’s because of my unwavering support for democracy that today, as a proud conservative, I’m endorsing Joe Biden for reelection.
The Illinois lawmaker, a frequent guest on CNN, admitted he never thought he would be voting for the Democrats.
Biden replied: ‘This is what putting your country before your party looks like’.
Biden pardons thousands of veterans convicted under military law against gay sex
Biden campaign dismisses Trump drug test request as ‘silly’
Donald Trump has suggested Biden be drug-tested ahead of Thursday night’s debate, and has offered to take one himself.
Biden campaign spokeswoman Adrienne Elrod was asked on CNN to respond. She said:
I mean, I don‘t even really know what to say about that. I worked on Hillary Clinton‘s campaign. She had also debated him very effectively. He accused her of being on drugs. President Biden defeated Donald Trump twice in previous debates.
This is what he does because he doesn‘t have anything else to run on. And so he has to resort to these types of tactics which are frankly just silly and turn off a lot of voters, especially voters who want to see their president fight for them.
Lauren Boebert wins Colorado primary
First ‘Squad’ member is ousted from Congress in New York
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Supreme Court poised to ALLOW emergency abortions in Idaho after opinion was accidentally posted on website and quickly taken down
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